In first, woman headed to lead national security lab

An engineer with three decades of experience in the field is slated to become the first woman to lead a key national security research and development laboratory.

Jill Hruby will take over as the president and director of Sandia National Laboratories next month, the lab announced on Monday.

{mosads}The decision places Hruby atop the nation’s largest national security lab, which performs research and development into nuclear weapons issues as well as other security areas.   

The lab is a wholly owned subsidiary of mega-contractor Lockheed Martin, and performs work for the Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA).

Hruby will be the first woman to lead any of the nation’s three national security labs, including Los Alamos and Lawrence Livermore as well as Sandia.

“I embrace the opportunity to maintain the U.S. nuclear deterrent and lead Sandia in solving the difficult security challenges we face as a nation,” Hruby said in a statement. “I’m proud to be the first woman to lead an NNSA laboratory, but mostly I’m proud to represent the people and work of this great lab.”

She has been a staffer and manager at Sandia for the last 32 years, most recently overseeing its work on nuclear, biological and chemical security; counterterrorism; homeland security; and energy security.

Hruby will take over the labs on July 17, to replace retiring president Paul Hommert.